The second most powerful three letters in storytelling. (The first? You.)
The word demands focus because something is about to change.
- You did well in the interview, but …
- The figures are in, but …
- I love you, but …
Can you feel how each of those creates a gap? A question that needs answering? That’s contrast at the smallest possible scale — a single word that flips the direction of a sentence.
I used the word “but” 27 times in a single email once. Not because I was being lazy. Because every single one was doing work — creating a micro-turn, a shift, a moment of tension that kept the reader moving forward.
My work had started to feel false, formulaic and manipulative, but that wasn’t all.
See how that triggers a question? See how questions keep us reading?
The deeper lesson here is that contrast is fractal. It works at every scale — from the grand arc of a Hero’s Journey down to the three letters in the middle of a sentence. The lows make the highs feel higher. The doubt makes the resolution land harder.
If your writing feels flat, look for places to put a “but” in. You might be surprised how much life it adds.